July 29, 2023
Another interesting and fun year at AirVenture, punctuated with beer, learning, and soaking up the experience with like-minded folks. Speaking of learning, thanks to DanH for his training on the Spotted Cow tap and for organizing another great evening with RV builders. Now on to what else I learned: Vic Syracuse (Base Leg Aviation) I ran into Vic while he…
June 15, 2023
I struggled to find a simple guide to understand the various Kavlico sensors and relevant service bulletins, here is my consolidation of that information. Relevant Links: The issue was outlined by Larry, N38LA (RV-10) back in 2020 on this VansAirforce post: Link The Garmin Service Bulletin: Link The Dynon Service Bulletin: Link The Van’s Service Bulletin: Link Original Sensors on…
May 30, 2023
There were many swear words falling from my mouth as I removed the cowl to begin my annual condition inspection and I saw a lot of oil on the bottom of the cowl (sorry I failed to take a picture) and on the top of the airbox. Not good. It looked like a classic crankshaft seal failure. First call was…
May 13, 2023
After cracking my inner chain ring in Moab and with the upcoming mountain bike season close at hand, I decided it was best to get ahead of the curve and do some servicing/upgrades on my bike. I pretty much tore it down to the individual pieces and then built it back up again. I’ll admit I was dismayed to find…
March 31, 2023
I had help with the engine cowling during constructions and unfortunately the nose gear gap was cut off center and larger than necessary. So back during construction I fabricated a repair using epoxy and flox. Pretty dumb of me to think that the small amount of surface area (I did sand the fiberglass cowling at an angle) would be sufficient…
August 1, 2022
Admittedly I did not attend many forums this year. I only attended the show for three days and there is just so much to see… But I did have a few takeaways: Vic Syracuse (Base Leg Aviation) Change auto spark plugs every 100 hours or annually (I have been following P-Mag recommendation of 125 hours) Mouse milk lube exhaust at…
April 5, 2022
So during my condition inspection I made a bad decision. I used a block of wood in between my wing jack and my wing, and that block did not match the shape of the jack stand. Lowering the jack the block rotated and flipped out putting two small dents in the bottom of my wing. Fuck me. My fault, dumb…
March 11, 2022
I customized my Condition Inspection checklist based on Walt’s (EXP Aircraft Services LLC) checklist. I also added some frequently needed documents/information to the end of my document. Here is a link to my checklist As with building, there was a learning curve this year that added a good amount of extra time and effort. Next year I think the Condition…
December 21, 2019
After motoring to Paradise Village from Yelapa, we pulled into a nice slip with plenty of boat projects to get done as well as visiting with our friends who live in Vallarta. Of course trips to the pool and eating out every night soften the affects of daily boat work. Sadly, or maybe not given the work, it was quickly…
May 31, 2019
Work continued and the day before our haul out we moved to a motel for the last two nights. Ah showers and air conditioning. Funny story – Jack and I had checked out a couple places and actually had reserved one that looked okay. Later that day Jack found a better spot and canceled the first motel and while there…
May 29, 2019
The passage past smoothly and come daylight we could see the finish line, Puerto Penasco. We even managed some motorsailing with the engines pulled way back. An attempt was made at sailing but as per usual this only lasted a short time. All in all, a nice way to close out the season. Huge tidal swings occur in Penasco so…
May 8, 2019
Work before play – I had to replace the anchor light fixture. So first thing in the morning up Jack and Shalise hoisted me. One hell of an arm work out holding myself up with one arm while soldering the connectors with my other. Whew! But we now have a working anchor light again! Who doesn’t love a scavenger hunt?…